Another Bottle Down
by dusty-kittens
Summary: Friday nights are party nights at Fairy Tail, everyone in Magnolia knows that. What happens when our beloved celestial mage lands herself in the middle of a drinking contest, and against Gajeel of all people? Well a drunk Lucy obviously, followed by something no one expected. Rated M for language and future chapters. Reviews welcome, all rights to Mashima and artist. (R R PLEASE)
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **Hey people. So Ive decided to write a short Galu story while I work on my Lalu story. I'm currently typing, and uploading on mobile, using Google Drive and Docs apps on my phone and ipod so be patient with updates. It's a horrid task and takes forever. And please be patient with me. Also, I'd just like to point out that I based the title of this story off an old favourite song of mine (Another Bottle Down by Asking Alexandria). It's a good song if you're into rock or metal. But it"s just the titles that are similar to each other.

So please, enjoy the first chapter of this 2-3 part story.

* * *

Everybody in Fiore knows Cana is the drunk of Fairy Tail, and she's proud of it. Everyday, she walks into the guild, grabs a barrel, and starts her daily routine of out-drinking everyone.

The local beer supplier loves Fairy Tail, considering they order in 200+ barrels every week. Between Cana, Makarov, and the rest of the guild, it's no wonder they fall a few jewels short when Team Natsu destroys half a village each mission, or a section of town when Erza's not around to stop Gray and Natsu from fighting.

It was a regular (if anything) Friday afternoon at the guild. The partying had started early, as the partying does every Friday. No one knows what makes Fridays so special, but they all just go along with it anyways.

Lucy sat at the bar, sipping her regular strawberry smoothie - non alcoholic - while trying to convince Mira for the thousandth time that Natsu was just her friend.

"Come on Lucy! You seriously can't expect me to believe nothing's ever happened when he sneaks into your bed EVERY OTHER NIGHT!" the bar maid shrieked, barely heard amongst the drunk babbling of the rest of the guild.

"I swear! That's all there is to it, Mira. He sneaks in, falls asleep, and that is that!" Lucy responded, exasperated by the demon's determination to get her to 'spill'.

She let her face fall onto the bar counter when her comment went unheard, as Mira started to sing about something that sounded like "blonde haired-onyx eyed babies"; with full blown hearts in her eyes as she repeatedly wiped the same spot on the counter.

Suddenly, she picked up the sounds of Cana drunkenly yelling about a drinking contest.

Thoroughly entertained by her fellow guild mates drinking themselves into vegetables just trying to get on Cana's level, Lucy straightened up and swiveled around to see who the unlucky soul would be tonight.

"Everyone knows, that no one in Fiore can out-drink me...except Bacchus - but I didn't say that!" She sputtered, teetering slightly on the top of the table.

'I wonder how many barrels she had to have to get that drunk,' Lucy thought as she listened to her friend continue to ramble.

"So here's what's going to happen bitches, I'm going to choose people to drink against each other," her balance faultered slightly, but enough to send her falling backwards - but not off the table. After a moment of readjusting, she continued her speech from a sitting position. "But first, I want someone to volunteer, because I really have no idea who to start with," she smiled with the guild as a few people chuckled, "So, who wants to volunteer?!" She shouted, throwing her hands in the air, and letting loose a glass that went flying into Gildart's face, stunning the poor man.

"OH! Oh! Pick me!" Natsu yelled, popping up from under a table, an empty beer bottle in his hand and at least 20 surrounding him. He started to stand up, but was pushed back down by an equally drunk Gray - who was all but sitting at the table.

"Sh...shhhhupt up...blainframe," his words much more slurred than Natsu's, he moved to stand where Natsu was going to stand, but was suddenly sent rocketing across the guild, having been kicked by Erza.

She climbed up onto her table, stumbled slightly, then threw her hands into the air, "I! Erza Scarlet, volunteer to drink against someone!" The glass in her raised hand slipped and crashed against the table below, "shit..." Erza mumbled, crawling off the table and walking to the bar to get a new one.

"Alright! I choose Evergreen to drink against Erza! What's a better ,way to decide who's the real Queen of the Fairies than to have a drinking contest!"

Ever stood up, and brushed imaginary dirt off her green dress, then slowly stepped forwards trying to hide how drunk she already was. She tried her best to keep her face calm, until Elfman stood up and yelled something about her being more manly than Erza in his eyes. Immediately her face turned red and she turned to face him and whipped a bottle towards him, narrowly missing his face. The guild laughed at the couples antics, knowing that Ever didn't mean any real harm. Re-composing herself she continued her slow pace to the table Erza now sat at waiting.

Lucy couldn't help but smile at her guild, and the matchmaker demon's squealing about how cute Ever and her brother were together. Who would have thought the two would have been good together? (Mira obviously).

She watched as Cana placed two barrels on the table; one in front of Erza (who then threw her bottle behind her, and didn't notice it casually smash Natsu in the face as he once again tried to stand up, once again knocking him out), and one in front of Ever.

Both women locked eyes in a deadly glare, making the people around them take a few steps back.

"GO!" Cana yelled as she threw herself backwards from the force of throwing her hands up.

They lunged for their barrels and started chugging back. Seconds passed before both slammed empty barrels in front of them.

"Not bad, Ever. But we sill have a long way to go," Erza smiled at her guildmate, determination and challenge in her eyes.

"You may win in battle, Erza Scarlet, but I will win this drinking contest. A true queen knows how to hold her booze," she returned the smile, but glared at Gray when he mentioned how most Queens didn't drink, therefore didn't know how to drink a lot.

Makarov placed two more barrels on the table; having taken the place of Cana after she found her way to another table with four barrels of her own.

Six barrels later, Erza and Ever continued their own separate staring contest with each other while they waited for the seventh barrel.

When placed down, both lunged and began to chug; in seconds it was gone. Another barrel was placed, but neither moved.

Erza hiccuped audibly a few times, unaware of the silence around them. Ever was aware though, and tried to hold back her own hiccups.

They continued to stare, when suddenly Ever propped herself on her elbow, and pointed a finger at Erza, her face suggesting she was going to yell about something.

The entire guild leaned forwards as Ever opened her mouth, but jaws dropped when all that came out was a table rattling burp. People swore it lasted a good 15seconds, before the woman let her face drop to the table, her hand landing on the back of her head.

A few more seconds passed before Elfman let out a road of laughter, followed by the rest of the guild.

"Now THAT WAS MANLY!"

Elfman then walked over to his passed out girlfriend, picked her up and said goodnight to the guid.

Erza climbed back up onto the table, raised her arms in victory and yelled,

"DAMN RIGHT I WON!" Before falling backwards off the table and landing unconscious.

Cana walked over to where Lucy was sitting, barely walking straight as she tried to balance laughing, her barrel, and herself. "Wow Lucy, what a drinking contest! I don't think anyone's going to let down Ever's burp! That was unfricken believable!"

"Yeah," Lucy chuckled lightly, "I don't know how anyone can drink that much," she finished the last of her smoothie and placed the glass on the Mira's side of the counter, close to the sink.

As she looked back at Cana, she noticed an evil glimmer in her eyes. Fearing the worst, Lucy sputtered.

"Oh no! No you don't! Don't you DARE!" Her voice raised as Cana's smile grew.

And it was too late, Cana got up and quickly (and messily) made her way back to the contest table, "WHO WANTS TO SEE ANOTHER CONTEST!" And the guild responded by cheering loudly.

"I nominate Lucy!" She yelled, and the guild cheered louder, knowing the contest would be much more entertaining with the blondes first time drinking. Cana pointed to where - moments ago - Lucy had been sitting, and a spotlight (that came out of nowhere) lit up the empty seat.

"There she is!" Someone yelled, and the spotlight moved to where Lucy now stood frozen against the wall, inches away from escape.

Comical tears streamed down her face as the guild cheered her name. She walked slowly to where Cana was, head hung low.

"Come on Lucy, you can do it!" Gray yelled from the floor. His eyes widened with the view he got as she walked past him.

Juvia landed on him within seconds, pressing her boobs into his face and crying about how love rivals panties were more lacy than hers.

Lucy thanked Mavis then that no one heard what Juvia had said, and sat down at the table.

"Now, to make this extra interesting," Cana closed her eyes and put her hand out, before spinning in circles until she crash landed on the floor, "well that didn't work...I CHOOSE GAJEEL!"

The guild stopped, and everyone turned to stare at the broody slayer in the corner. What no one expected was for him to laugh and stand up.

It was on. Lucy, who had never touched alcohol in her life (or so the guild thought), versus Gajeel, who's drinking skills no one knew.

"AAAAAIIIEEEEEEE!" Mira suddenly screamed, breaking the silence, "YOU TWO WOULD BE SOOO CUTE TOGETHER AHHH!" The silence broke and the guild started talking about who might win. Many people voting on Gajeel since unlike Lucy, had been seen drinking before.

Lucy paled at what the barmaid had yelled, and paled further when the slayer sat down in front of her, a smug smirk on his face.

Having already downed a few shots of whiskey, Gajeels confidence was a higher than normal and he turned to Cana, "Hey drunkie, how about we do whiskey shots instead of barrels," he suggested

The card mages face lit up, "Holy shit, Gajeel!"

Mira had grabbed the whiskey and 20 shot glasses as soon as Gajeel suggested it, and ran over to the table with it.

"Oh sweet Mavis," Lucy whispered. The guild didn't know this, but Lucy had already had her fair share of whiskey. While living with her father, there wasn't anyone to stop her once the maids had gone to bed, and he never seemed to notice the few bottles that had gone missing every couple months.

"Gihi, nervous Bunny girl?"

"No, shocked yes. But not nervous," she spoke calmly, and no one seemed to notice just how easy the blonde was taking the whole situation.

"Well, let's make this a little more interesting shall we? If I win, you come to my house and we have a date. You win, and -"

"You'll carry my shopping bags for a month," she cut him off.

Gajeel's eyes went wide, terror freezing him for a moment at the horror of having to carry all those shopping bags. For a month.

Natsu popped up again, blubbering something about how Lucy better win or he'd kill Gajeel. But Gajeel just laughed, he knew better. There was no way Bunny could win against him. Whiskey was his forté.

"Gihi, this is goona be so good," he smirked at her, surprised by her returning the smirk. He could see the confidence in her eyes, and he knew that it really was going to be good.

He rubbed his hands together as Mira poured them each ten shots. Half of the guild cheered for Lucy (the females), while the other half cheered for Gajeel (the men, mostly in fear for the poor man having to step into Natsu's shoes for a month).

"You guys ready?" Cana asked, a barrel in her own hands.

"Hell yeah!" Gajeel growled, confidence radiating off him.

"Sure," Lucy said, fairly contently.

"Go!" Cana yelled.

The man jumped at his shots, tossing them back as quickly as possible. While Lucy calmly tossed them back at an even pace. She finished a few moments after Gajeel did.

"Woah, go Lucy! That was pretty impressive," Cana said, setting her now empty barrel down.

The guild was silent with anticipation, as if waiting for the blonde to fall over.

Lucy could feel the liquid heavy in her stomach, but it hadn't affected her yet. So she stood up and surprised everyone by yelling, "BRING US ANOTHER ROUND, MIRA!"

The guild laughed and cheered more, Cana laughed, Makarov cried tears of joy, and Mira poured 10 more shots.

"Well well well Bunny, I knew something was up. You've drunk whiskey before haven't you. Judging by how easily you took those shots,"

Lucy blushed slightly, before shaking her head slightly and smiling innocently at the man before her, "What're you talking about Gajeel?"

"Don't play dumb, Bunny. I knew you were hiding something at the beginning. Only someone who knows how to drink whiskey wouldn't have followed my lead of sloppy shots,"

"Maybe you're wrong, Gajeel. Maybe I just read somewhere that drinking whiskey shots needs to be done in a smooth pace to avoid being hit too hard by the alcohol," she retorted, pointing her nose up.

"Whatever you say Bunny, but I ain't losing to a bunny, I'm so looking forward to that date," he winked at her, but she brushed it off.

"No way metal head, you are so carrying my bags for a month,"

"Alight! Round two is up!" Mira smiled as she poured Lucy's last shot, "BLONDE HAIRED RED EYED BABIES!" She screeched before falling backwards.

Makarov chuckled at her antics, before yelling go.

_"Nine, eight, seven, six,"_ she counted back in her head as she and Gajeel matched evenly shot for shot. She was determined to not lose, even though a date with the muscular man didn't sound that bad - suddenly she choked on some of the liquid, shocked at the thought in her mind, but quickly regained her composure and finished the last two shots. _"What the hell!? Is the booze getting to me already?"_ She wiped the whiskey that had dripped from her nose in her minor choking fit.

"That was a close one Bunny. What made you choke? Was it the thought of a date with me?" He winked at her, clearly more than affected by the whiskey at this point; also having started drinking before her.

"PFFFT, why would I think that!?" Her words came out a little more slurred than intended, "oh Mavis," she whispered. "If he's wasted then I must be super wasted - but, he did start drinking before me. So he's maybe a little more wasted than I am, which means I'm probably gong to win," she smiled at the thought.

"Gihi, yo demon, I think we need one more round,"

"Woah Lucy, you sure you can handle that?" Cana asked her, concerned for her friend (still believing Lucy had never gotten drunk before).

"Yeah yeah Cana, I'll be fine, it's not like I haven't handled a whole bottle of whiskey before,"

"What!?" Erza shot up from the floor.

"What?" Gray repeated, also shooting up from the floor, without his clothes. Causing Juvia to pass out on the ground, hearts in her eyes.

"GRAY! Your CLOTHES!" Multiple people yelled,

"FUCK!" He started searching the ground for where ever they could have landed.

"What? Did you honestly think I've never gotten drunk before?" Lucy questioned

"Well, duh..." Cana said,

"You never drink at the guild so of course we assumed that," Erza added.

"Oh, well about that...I used to steal my father's whiskey all the time when I lived with him, so I'm not new to whiskey. I can't stand the smell of beer, so I don't drink it, and I've just never really felt like I needed to get drunk. You guys are all so great when you drink, how could I miss it?" She smiled at the people she called family.

"Oh my Mavis Lucy, you're going to have to drink with me more!" Cana yelled, "Now do another round!"

Lucy turned back to Gajeel, who had another smug grin on his face.

"Ha! I knew it Bunny girl! I so knew it," he continued to laugh before turning serious, "but I'm still going to win, and I'm starting to really look forward to that date," his smile turned suggestive, making the blonde blush.

"Shut up, Gajeel," was all she said before reaching for her 21st shot.

She tipped it back, and slammed the small glass on the table; the look in her eyes dating him to take his.

So he did, and when his shot hit the table Lucy grabbed the next one. And so it continued, shot for shot until they finally reached the last one.

At that point, Lucy could definitely feel the buzz. She looked up at Gajeel and noticed his figure was split in two, "woah, Gajeel...there's two of you,"

The sentence, and the way she said it caused Gajeel to burst into laughter, "oh I'm so winning, bunny girl you're so wasted right now! Don't even take your last shot,"

"What! Fuck no, I'm taking it!" Her language shocked a few people in the guild, but after a moment they laughed it off; everyone was loving the drunk side of Lucy.

She reached for the last shot, but stopped when she couldn't seem to figure out which image was real.

"Cana," she looked up at her friend and burst out laughing, "oh my god, Cana you have four tits,"

The brunette spit out her mouthful of beer, and let out a loud cackle, "oh god Lucy, you need to get drunk more often,"

"I think I do," Lucy whispered to herself, "but hey Cana? I cant figure out which images are real...there's 4 full shot glasses here...which doesn't make sense because I'm pretty sure I have one left?"

"It's right in front of you dumbass," was Cana's only reply before she tilted the mouth of the barrel back to her own.

Lucy looked back down at the table, trying to decide where to place her hand that would land her the shot. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, and as soon as she opened them again she lunged for the shot glass. Taking the quick moment of clarity to make sure she grabbed the right one, and not nothing.

"Go on Bunny, take the last shot," Gajeel urged, waiting to see if that last one would do the job and knock her out. He knew she was at her limit, even if she didn't. He figured that those days of stealing whiskey from her dad were a while ago, and that her tolerance had weakened in the time since. At this point, he knew Makarov and Mira would make her quit in fear of the poor girl poisoning herself.

She looked up at him, and smiled, "Watch me," and she tipped the shot back. Slamming the glass down she let out a deep breath, "Woo!" She yelled, "ALRIGHT I'M STILL OKAY!" She stood up and went to throw her hands up, but a wave of dizziness threw her off and she fell backwards. She could hear Erza yell "shit" before she felt hands grab her own and someone grab her from behind.

Then everything went black.

* * *

**AN:** Jesus. That was a task and a half editing all that. Copy & paste got messed up, so apologies for any mistakes in names or words. I'll fix them as soon as I get laptop access. Hope you enjoyed, chapter 2 will be up as soon as possible!

~ Dusty


	2. Chapter 2

**So here's chapter two! It deviates a little (a lot) from the "humor" aspect of this story - since I couldn't find a humorous way to have Lucy and Gajeel act towards each other in terms of 'fluff' and keep it a decent story (is it decent? I hope so). So I hope you enjoy what I've cooked up! I finally have a laptop now too so I'll be updating a lot more. And, tomorrow I should hopefully have a new chapter up for My LaLu story, 'The Good Will Come and Go, and Come Again' - I've been thinking of changing the title of that story though, it's beginning to evolve and change into something other than what I had in mind. But other than that, if you're also a LaLu fan (as well as a GaLu fan), then there's another LaLu/Galu story that I've started called Star Gazer. **

**Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! **

**~Dusty**

* * *

Gajeel watched with amusement as the blonde's eyes lit up as she stood up, yelling, and throwing her hands up; but noticed instantly the fault in her eyes as she continued to move past being perpendicular with the floor. In the same second he noticed, he lunged forwards and grabbed onto her hands hoping to stop her from hitting the floor. At the same moment he grabbed her hands, Erza caught her from behind, aiding him in preventing her crash.

The guild went silent for a moment, everybody holding their breath as the scene unfolded before them. Eyes watched them worriedly, and eagerly, as Mira moved forwards to help move Lucy back onto the bench. The blonde's head bobbed as the three moved her carefully, signifying she was either unconscious or too drunk to control her own movements.

"Hey-" the blond hiccupped, and everyone in the room let out a deep breath: she was okay. "W-why is evrrrrybudy so quiet?" she asked, her voice a higher tone than normal.

Makarov couldn't help but chuckle at his child so drunk, "You scared us Lucy, but I'm glad to see you're okay,"

"Of course I'm okay," her voice wavered in tone, "Why wouldn't I be okay," her high pitched, wavery voice had people chuckling around the room.

"Luce, I think it's time you go home," Mira suggested, backed up by Erza nodding.

"Whaaaaat? But the party just started!" Mira couldn't help but giggle as well at the sound of Lucy's voice.

"No Lucy, the party's been going for a while. _Your_ party just started, but it also just ended. You are _way_ too drunk to keep drinking dear," Mira explained as she brushed strands of hair off the blonde's face.

"Makarov…don't make them send me home, I can barely walk!" Lucy whined, and Gajeel couldn't help but laugh a little himself.

"DON'T WORRY GRAMPS!" Natsu broke into the group, "I CAN WALK HER HOME, I'M PERFECTLY FINE!"

Erza shook her head as she kicked the drunk dragon slayer across the room, effectively knocking him out _again_.

Gajeel raised an eyebrow at the red head as Gray stumbled over and opened his mouth, but was stopped by Erza kicking him to the same corner as Natsu. Juvia's eyes watered and her face turned pink as she watched Gray fly across the guild.

"DON'T WORRY GRAY-SAMA, JUVIA IS NOT FAR BEHIND!"

"Gajeel," Mira's voice broke through to him as he dragged his eyes away from his rain woman friend.

"Huh?"

"Erza, Makarov and I agree that you should take Lucy home. You seem to be holding your alcohol better than anyone here, and we need to stay to keep an eye on everyone, and prevent them from destroying the guild,"

Erza's eyes darted to Gray and Natsu – who had both stood up and were yelling insults at each other – and her gaze turned dark and cold. Immediately, Gray and Natsu sensed the dark, scary gaze of her staring at them; slowly they turned to Erza, and having their fears confirmed they screeched and hugged each other, drunkenly yelling something about being best friends.

"Tch," Gajeel sighed, there was no denying those three: The Demon, Titania, and their Master, "I was thinking of heading home anyways,"

"That's good," Makarov smiled proudly, "Her place isn't out of the way at all,"

Gajeel nodded to Makarov, then to Mira and Erza, before moving to pick up the drunk bunny. In one fell swoop, he had her up in his arms and was heading towards the door.

"Wait!" he heard Mira calling him, huffing he turned around and was met by a blanket being thrown on his face, "Keep Lucy warm by wrapping her up in that," she smiled, waved, and turned her attention back to another poor drunk that couldn't walk.

Carefully he rearranged the blanket to cover most of Lucy – the best he could – and finally stepped out of the guild. Immediately he froze up, icicles forming under his nose and his hair seemed to freeze in place.

"God dammit, why didn't I get a blanket," he grumbled while stiffly beginning his walk towards the blonde's home.

Lucy felt her feet suddenly become cold, and wondering what was happening she opened her eyes. To her surprise, her gaze met the neck of someone with long black hair. _Long black hair…Gajeel!? _

"EEK!" Lucy screeched, causing the dragon slayer to flinch while trying not to drop her

"Dammit Bunny girl, that hurt my ears," he voiced gruffly, trying not to be too angry with the drunk as he readjusted her position to set her head _away_ from his ear.

Lucy could feel her cheeks heating up as she stared at Gajeel. She tried hard to not notice, but she couldn't help it; the sharp angles of his jaw, the way his piercings accentuated his features making him look more sexy and rugged. Without thinking, she raised her hand and let the tips of her fingers lightly brush along the piercings under his chin.

"Bunny?" his voice broke through her gap

"Wuh? Oh," she quickly drew her hand away from his face, "S-sorry," she stuttered.

"Its fine," his voice was surprisingly calm to her, or was she just still too drunk to catch onto that kind of thing?

Her gaze drifted to the stars past Gajeel, and her mind wandered to when she was a child…

"_See Lucy? That's Capricorn over there. When you're old enough, you'll be able to summon him. And there, that's Aquarius – she's a bit hard to handle, but you'll be able to manage,"_

"_How long until I can summon them Mommy,"_

"_You just have to practice Lucy,"_

"_But I want to summon them now,"_

"_Hahaha, don't worry sweetheart, your time will come sooner than you expect,"_

"Bunny?"

She paid no attention to the voice that was calling her, she was too lost in the memory of her mother.

"_Lucy look!"_

"_Wow!"_

"_Did you see that?"_

"_Yeah! What was it Mommy,"_

"_It was a shooting star,"_

"_Huh? What does that mean?"_

"_It's one of the spirits travelling across the stars, I bet its Aquarius in a rush to see Scorpio,"_

"_Why is she going to see Scorpio?"_

"_Aquarius and Scorpio have a special relationship, kind of like your father and I,"_

"Bunny, why are you crying?"

"_Daddy, I want to look at the stars,"_

"_NO! It's past your bedtime, you must go to sleep,"_

"_Can't I see Mommy before I go to sleep?"_

"_No, she needs rest. She is very tired, and sick. Going in there will only hinder her getting better,"_

"_Oh…alright Daddy, goodnight," _

"…"

"Lucy! God dammit,"

"_DADDY! WHERE'S MOMMY?!"_

"_Be quiet and go to your room,"_

"_BUT I WANT TO SEE MOMMY!"_

"_No. Go study, it's much more important,"_

"_MOMMY!"_

"_Stop screaming Lucy!"_

"_MOMMY! MOMMY!"_

"_GOD DAMMIT LUCY STOP SCREAMING!"_

"_MOMMY!"_

"_Maid, please. Take her to her room,"_

"_NO! DON'T TAKE ME AWAY I WANT TO SEE MOMMY!"_

"_Please, take her now,"_

"LUCY!"

"_Lucy, you can enter now,"_

"_Good afternoon Fa-…Sir,"_

"_My secretary informed me you had a request?"_

"_Yes sir,"_

"_Well, go on,"_

"_I was wondering…"_

"_Spit it out,"_

"_When will I be allowed to have Mother's keys?"_

"…"

"_Sir?"_

"_Get out,"_

"Bunny?"

Lucy blinked a couple of times, noticing the cold wetness that covered most of her face. As her vision came back into focus, she noticed Gajeel was staring intently at her, as if waiting for something.

"Gajeel?" there was definitely still alcohol in her system, she could barely remember leaving the guild with him 20 minutes earlier.

"Bunny, are you okay?"

"What do you mean?" she was confused, his voice was full of concern, as if something bad had just happened.

"…Mavis…Lucy, you had a-a-a I don't know, a breakdown or something? You wouldn't stop fucking crying,"

"Oh…" she took in her surroundings, she was in her room now, laying on her bed with Gajeel was sitting beside her, "How did we get inside?"

"Well, your house key wasn't on the same keychain as your celestial keys. So while you were busy crying, I was trying to calm you down and find your key. I found an extra one under the flower pot – how original might I add," he smirked at the end of his sentence.

"I didn't put that key there, Erza did," Lucy smirked slightly as well, mildly appreciating for once her team's inability to stay out of her home – because at least Erza used the front door; and that key came in handy tonight by the sounds of it.

"Hmph," was Gajeel's only response.

They sat in silence for a few moments, each trying to find something else to stay.

"So-" Gajeel started

"I'm sorry," Lucy mumbled, throwing her arms across her face, tears slipping from her eyes once more, "It must not be fun having to deal with a crying nonsensical drunk,"

"It's not as bad as you'd think, at least it's you and not…" he paused

"Not…?"

"Anyone really…I'd rather deal with a drunk crying you than anyone else in that insane guild – sober,"

"What about Levy? You seem to deal with her pretty well,"

"Shrimp? I only put up with her because she just sits there and reads – I can't stand her team though, always going on about how great she is, not that they're wrong or anything, she's just not my type,"

"Not your type?"

"Yeah, her and I have already made it clear to each other that there's nothing going on,"

"Oh, I see…" she pondered the information for a moment, "You sure talk a lot once you start you know that?"

"Huh? No…I'm still slightly boozed up myself, tomorrow I'll just be regular old me,"

Lucy giggled, "Yeah, regular old moody metal-head,"

"Hey! I'm not moody!" Gajeel frowned at her

"Oh? That sounded like a moody response to me,"

"Shut up,"

"That's not nice!"

"Neither is calling me moody!"

"But you are moody!"

Gajeel stared Lucy in the eyes, frustration and moodiness evident in their redness; while Lucy stared back, her eyes glinting and playful – and still mildly drunk. Suddenly Gajeel sat back, and he looked away, his features almost reaching what could be called "soft".

"Oi Bunny, why were you crying earlier?"

The question threw Lucy off, having completely forgotten about that in the midst of her teasing the iron dragon slayer.

"Oh," her eyes turned sad, and she looked down at the comforter in her hands, "I was thinking about my mom, and my dad," she stated simply

"You miss them?"

"I miss my mom, she's the one who gave me Aquarius, and I was supposed to get Capricorn – but he was stolen and ended up with Grimoire Heart. I honestly think my dad sold him, and was planning on selling Aquarius as well, before I stole her and ran away,"

"Why would you dad do that?"

"He was angry. So angry, I sometimes wonder if he blamed me for my mom's death,"

Gajeel's eyes widened with shock as she continued.

"But he couldn't, not rationally at least. She died of natural causes, he never told me exactly how and he made the nurses and maids keep it a secret. All I know is she had been sick for as long as I could remember. I don't think he loved me, not after she died at least. He just wanted me around so he could sell me to some other estate to be married so he could bring in another million jewel," she spat venom filled words as she talked about her father, angered at just the memories of him, before all anger left her, "But he was still my father…when he lost the estate he came to me for help, and I wanted to help him – but he asked too much of me. Then, he moved on to the Lucky guild in hopes of getting a job. I heard that the place was being held up by bandits, and I rushed to save him. Took them all out myself – and he wasn't even there, I didn't speak to him again after that. Sometimes I wish I at least had a chance to say goodbye, but it's too late now. He passed when we were on Tenrou,"

"The marriage thing explains why he hired my old guild to go after you," Gajeel mused, remembering the time when Juvia and him had been in the guild – and gone after the blonde, hurting Levy in the process. Guilt ripped through his chest as he remembered the physical pain he put Lucy through, the way he tried to beat the light out of her eyes, and failed. He let his own eyes drop, unable to look at the blonde that was sitting in front of him now, letting him sit on her bed, be close to her, close enough that he could feel the space between their bodies, as she told him about her life.

Every day that he saw her, he saw her with the bruises, cuts, and injuries that he gave her. And every day that he saw her, he saw her smile at him as though it had never happened.

"Gajeel? What are you thinking about?"

"Why Lucy?" his voice was riddled with guilt and anger, making Lucy flinch.

"Why what?" she was confused.

"Why am I here? Why do you trust me? Why do you smile at me as though nothing had ever happened? I don't deserve it,"_ Oh man, I'm so going to regret bringing this up in the morning. This is where it all goes wrong, this is where she realizes that I'm right, and kicks me out of her house. Why do I always fuck things up?_

"Gajeel…" Lucy's voice was soft, and much closer than he expected.

Feeling her hands on each side of his face, he opened his eyes and she lifted his face to look him in the eyes; and what he saw there astounded him. Love, forgiveness, happiness, and her smile. Her smile reached to the depths of her brown eyes as if her soul itself was smiling at him.

"Gajeel," she said again, her voice stronger than before, "You are a part of Fairy Tail now, and even if you weren't I'd still have forgiven you. It was my father's fault that you attacked the guild, and I don't blame you for what you did to me. You were angry, alone, scared – even though you'd never admit it," she smiled softly at him, and he realized that she was now seated in his lap, her hands still on his face. He was so close to her, he could see the tears beginning to brim at the edges of her eyes.

"Lucy…"

"Although I was scared at first, I told myself it would just take time. And it didn't even take that long, I could see already that you were a different man than you were before,"

Lucy could feel her heart beating loudly in her head, and she was sure Gajeel could hear it too. Taking a deep breath she tried to steady the pace, so she could finish was she was saying.

"Lucy I don-" she cut him off, wanting to finish what she was saying before he said anything

"Shhh," she placed a finger on his lips, silently telling him to just shut up until she was finished. Sensing that he got the message she continued, "If you need to hear it, then listen. Gajeel Redfox, I forgive you. I forgave you a long time ago now. And I mean it, so don't feel guilty anymore, you don't need to,"

She placed her forehead against his, noting that his skin was warm, but not like Natsu's scorching heat.

"Lucy…"

"Yes Gajeel?"

"…Thank you,"

"You're welcome, Gajeel,"

"And Lucy,"

"Yes?"

"Would it be a bad time to tell you I love you?"

Gajeel could almost hear her heart stumble, as she lifted her forehead from his, and he could feel his own heart begin to skip beats as he waited for her response. He shut his eyes, almost expecting the worst. As though her forgiving him wasn't enough, he wanted her to love him too.

"You're awfully open tonight, for a broody, silent dragon slayer," she giggled lightly, the sound dancing in his ears,

"Look, if it was too much I'm sorry, I can go if you wan-" he was cut off by a pair of soft lips pressing themselves against his for only a moment. Stunned, he looked up to see her smiling at him. Oh that smile that drove him (and many others) absolutely crazy.

He reached for her, and pulled her back down onto his lips with a ferocious passion; eliciting a moan from her as he nibbled on her lower lip before pulling it into his own mouth, then letting it go. He could feel her breath against his wet lips, smell the booze that was still lightly on her breath, and taste her taste on his tongue.

"I take that as a no, it's not a bad time?" he questioned

"No, it wasn't a bad time. I should have said something sooner Gajeel. I didn't know you were still suffering from guilt. I didn't know you and Levy didn't have a thing, I thought she didn't mention it because it wasn't something she was ready to talk about,"

"Now it's my turn to tell you shush, Bunny girl. Now, how long have you liked me?"

Lucy could feel her face flush as she thought about his question, _how long?_

"I don't know…" she stuttered, "I don't know when it started, but I accepted it a couple months ago…"

"Accepted what?" his voice was deep and husky as he whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her spine and making her flush even more.

"Accepted that I liked you…that I wanted you," she breathed out, her breathing becoming ragged as his lips ghosted down her neck; not quite touching.

"Hmmmmm, that you wanted me? How badly?"

His lips on her neck made thinking almost impossible as she racked her brain for the words to form her answer, "I was sad, when I saw you with Levy, I wanted to be the one sitting beside you," she managed

"Well, it seems you went from the sitting beside me to sitting on me in just one night," he teased her, making her blush down her neck and to her chest.

His gaze followed her blush, taking in an eyeful of the cleavage her shirt gave him. Slowly, he kissed from her jawline down her neck, to the tops of her breasts, then up slightly to pepper kisses across her collar bones.

"That's…"

"Hmm?"

"That's not fair Gajeel," she whined,

"Gihi, I think you're about to learn that there's a lot that isn't fair, Bunny," his suggestive voice sent more shivers down her spine, and she closed her eyes at the sensation.

Gajeel watched as her back slightly arched at the sound of his voice. Unable to take his eyes off her face, he couldn't hold back from kissing her as she closed her eyes and let out an almost silent moan. His mouth attacked hers, making her moan even louder. Moans that were for him, his ears only, because he made them happen. He growled against her lips as he pushed her back onto the bed, and let himself hover over her. A possessive tick in his mind took hold, and he could feel his canines lengthen slightly. He pulled back quickly, regretting it immediately when she let out a whimper.

"Lucy, I need to know," he gasped quietly, "Do you love me too?" he could feel his heart in his throat as he waited what seemed like ages for her reply – when it was only milliseconds.

"Yes. Gajeel, I love you. I love you so much,"

At those words, he could feel his canines lengthen just a little bit more, as his head ducked down into the nape of her neck, and he bit her.


End file.
